There are numerous products that use an aerosol system to apply and/or deliver materials by spray. Aerosol systems generally use one of two methods for propelling the material being sprayed. Both methods use an inert gas under pressure to propel the material out of an aerosol container. The aerosol container can either contain a pressurized material in the aerosol container with the material to be sprayed, and which does not chemically interact with the material to be sprayed, or it can be pumped by the user, where a pump system allows the user to pump air into the aerosol container to create pressure that propels the material out of the container.
Of the materials that are sprayed and delivered out of aerosol containers, some are intended to be applied topically to humans. Examples of such materials include sunscreen, insect repellant, artificial tanner/bronzer, and so on. An issue can arise, however, when a person is alone, or otherwise without help from another person to apply the material to regions of their body that are hard to reach, when using conventional aerosol canisters that direct spray in only one fixed direction, which is away from the canister. This is particularly common with sunscreen, where a person wishes to apply sunscreen to, for example, their own back.
Aerosol sunscreen (or sometimes called “sunblock”) containers are very popular because they allow an easy means of applying sunscreen without having to get lotion all over one's hands, among other problems. However, a conventional aerosol container dispenses in a fixed direction away from the container. Furthermore, an aerosol container must be held substantially upright in order for the material inside to be propelled out, due to the internal design of the uptake tube. This makes it awkward, if not impossible, for a person to hold a conventional aerosol sunscreen container and spray sunscreen on their back. In addition to personal uses for spraying topical material such as sunscreen, there are numerous other applications where an aerosol spray to deliver or apply material is desirable, but where the fixed directional spray of conventional aerosol containers does not allow for the easy application of spray to a desired place.
This problem has been address in the past by using, for example, an applicator with a long handle that allows a person to reach their back and apply sunscreen. However this approach has not been popular because dirt and sand tend to stick to the applicator, making subsequent uses uncomfortable as the dirt/sand/debris grind into the user's skin. In addition, sunscreen will only be applied where the applicator actually touches, which is a disadvantage compared to aerosol applications because the spray reaches a wide area.
Therefore, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above.